ArcelorMittal Q3 net income declines 25% to $0.9 billion

The company reported "net income of USD 0.9 billion in 3Q 2018 as compared to USD 1.9 billion in 2Q 2018 and USD 1.2 billion in 3Q 2017," it said.

The world's largest steel maker ArcelorMittal on Thursday reported 25 percent decline in net income at USD 0.9 billion for the quarter ended September 30. The company had posted net income of USD 1.2 billion in the year-ago period, the firm said in a statement.

The company reported "net income of USD 0.9 billion in 3Q 2018 as compared to USD 1.9 billion in 2Q 2018 and USD 1.2 billion in 3Q 2017," it said.

The net income is "attributable to the equity holders of the parent", the company said.

ArcelorMittal Chairman and CEO Lakshmi N Mittal said that in India, the company has recently been named as the successful bidder for Essar Steel, which provides a unique opportunity to establish a meaningful production presence in the world's fastest growing steel-market.

The company further said that in-line with Essar Steel India Ltd's (ESIL's) "corporate insolvency process, the company's resolution plan must now be formally accepted by India's National Company Law Tribunal before completion, which is expected before the end of 2018".

After completion, ArcelorMittal will jointly own and operate ESIL in partnership with Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation (NSSMC), Japan's largest steel producer and the third largest steel producer in the world, in-line with the joint venture formation agreement signed with NSSMC in March.

ArcelorMittal and NSSMC expect to finance the joint venture through a combination of partnership equity (one-third) and debt (two-thirds), and ArcelorMittal anticipates that its investment in the joint venture will be equity accounted.

As anticipated market conditions in the third quarter remained favourable, resulting in significantly improved EBITDA for the first nine months compared with 2017, Mittal said.

"We continue to see robust real demand and healthy utilisation rates across all steel segments," he added.

"We continue to make good progress with the implementation of our Action 2020 plan, which will improve the performance of our existing business and targets further growth in higher added value products. We are also expanding our business through the execution of a targeted and disciplined strategy to create long-term value," he added.

The company also announced completion of transaction to acquire Ilva.

"Within six months of taking ownership of Votorantim we have captured a significant amount of synergies, and have strengthened our long steel business in Brazil. We are confident we will be similarly successful in integrating and delivering rapid improvement at Ilva, Europe's single largest integrated steel-making facility, which completed today," he said.

The crude steel production of the world's leading integrated steel and mining company was at 23.3 million tonnes (MT) in the third quarter of 2018, down 1.2 percent over 23.6 MT in the year-ago period.

"The progress the industry and our company has made is significant but we remain cognizant of the challenges, including continued global overcapacity, and we remain concerned with the high level of imports in various markets. We continue to prioritise net debt reduction and a strong balance sheet to ensure we can prosper in all market conditions," Mittal said.

The company's gross debt was at USS 13.0 billion as of September 30, 2018.

"Net debt as of September 30, 2018 stable at USD 10.5 billion...net debt is $1.5 billion lower when compared to net debt as of September 30, 2017," the statement said.